Apparatus for operating the gates or doors of elevators



Dec. 19, 1950 c. o. HARMoN APPARATUS PoR OPERATING THE GATES 0R DooRs oF ELEvAToRs Filed Aug. 4, 1949 IN V EN TOR. C/@re/r 'ce 0 /Tbrmor BY f Patented Dec. 19,F 1950 i frz.

.APPARATUS FOR .OPERATING THE GATES A,

OR DOORS OF -EIEVATORS A clarence 0. Harmon, Detroit, Mich. Application August 4, 19.4.9, seriaiNo. 108,516

il j This invention relates to means for Yoperating the gates or doors of elevators. "It has been Athe general practice, particularly with freight elevators Lto use vertically moving gates which counter- 'balance each other and which can Vbe opened vwhen lthe elevator arrives at a floor, 'and closed 'before the elevator is moved. The gates are ordinarily operated .by two Vmotors Aat each floor. Itis the object of 'the present invention to provide one'or two motors .on the top of the elevator which are adapted to be thrown into driving relation with the gate operating mechanism as the elevator reaches a floor where itis to stop.

I have described and claimed :apparatus of this character in my prior application entitled Elevator Door or Gate Operating Mechanism, led May 4, 1948, 'Serial No. 24,933 which issued on March '7, 1950, as Patent No. 2,500,072. In the apparatus described in the aforementioned application, the driving wheel and also the motor is located on a platform which is tilted back and forth as the driving mechanism is brought into and out of engagement with the driven mechanism located in the elevator shaft. It is the object of the present invention to make the motor stationary so as to eliminate wear and tear on the motor by moving it each time the driving wheel goes into engagement with the driven roll and thereby giving it each time a shock when the two members come together. It also eliminates wear and tear on the wiring leading to and from the motor by eliminating the flexure of these wires.

To this end I have eliminated the platform or supporting bracket of my prior application and have used an L frame to support the driving wheel and the motor driven sprocket. The armature shaft and the driving pinion of the motor are located at the fulcrum point of the L frame on which the driving wheel tilts into and out of driving engagement.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the gate operating apparatus mounted on the top of the elevator which is fragmentarily shown in section.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the motor taken from the front of the elevator shaft showing some of the driving and driven parts in section, the driving wheel being broken away.

Fig, 3 is a plan view of the gate operating mechanism taken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

I designates the elevator or car which is here shown rather diagrammatically. Motor A is the motor that furnishes the power for the lifting and lowering of the gates. Motor B is a torque ls claims. (ci. isc-52) motor for throwing thedriving wheel 4 into `engagement with the driven roller 5. "The Idriven roll has a rubber composition friction periphery.

This friction sruface 'is designated 6. Note that the driving wheel 4 is much narrower than the driven roller 15. This permits the engagement of the wheel and the roller notwithstanding there may be considerable side sway of the elevator car. The driving wheel can contact the `driven roll four inches (4") above 'or below where't'he elevator registers with -t'he floor level. The dri-ving wheel 4 is supported in bearings on the L frame l which'has two arms lwhich straddle the dri-ving wheel 'l and the driven gear '8 (see-Fig. 2). This frame swings on the motor shaft 9. The A motor drives the driving pinion Ill which in turn drives the gear 8 which is xed by screw H to a hub l2 of the driving wheel. This hub has reduced journals I3 which are supported in the openings or journal bearings of the L frame. A roller` or ball bearing can be interposed for each journal, but these are not shown in the drawings.

Inasmuch as the motor shaft is on the same axis about which the L frame fulcrums, the A motor can be Xedly mounted on the top of the elevator.

When it is desired to open the gates, a push button or toggle switch in the car is placed to the on position. This, through the controller I5, energizes the torque motor B driving pinion I6 which turns the larger gear l1 which, in turn, turns the sprocket wheel I8. This pulls upwardly on the chain I9 which is attached to leg 2U of the L frame. This throws the driving wheel against the driven roll. The amount of pressure of the driving roll upon the driven roll may be varied by altering the torque of the torque motor. This can be done by introducing diiferent amounts of resistance into the torque motor circuit by well-known resistance inserts. This torque and pressure will determine the margin of tractive effort over normal load.

The latch that locks the gates together is then released. Thismay be done automatically by means of the torque motor operating a chain 26 or cable to release the latch. Thereupon a switch in the car is thrown and the current passes from the controller to the motor A. The driving wheel is in contact with the driven roll with such pressure as has been determined as desirable by adjusting the resistance inserts in the controller. The desirable pressure is a compromisesuch pressure as will drive the gate operating-mechanism but at the same time allow slippage if an obstruction is met with so as to provide a safety factor.

To close the gates another switch (not shown) is operated to reverse the motor A and the controller has suitable apparatus (not shown or described) for the purpose of slowing up the gates as they reach the near fully open or closed positions. When they reach the final position a limit switch cuts off the motor A and at the same time cuts offthe current to the torque motor and the overweight ofthe part of the unit at right of the axis of the motor shaft willUnow return the L frame and the driving wheelto the stand-01T position.

It will be desirable to have a torque motor and a gate-driving motor set located on each side of the car to operate the chains supporting the gates at each end. YAs stated in my prior application, I want it understood that this apparatus can be used, with simple changes, to operate a single slidingr gate or door or horizontally sliding elevatordoors, one or more.

The gate or gates, not shown, are operated by chain 30 which is on sprocketwheel 3l that is on the samefshaft as the gear 32 which is driven by pinion 33on the shaft that carries the driven roll 5.

What I claim is:

1. -Actuating mechanism for the gates or doors guarding the opening into the elevator shaft at each oor of a building, having in combination a gate orudoor operating motor which can be xedlyattached to the elevator, a driving wheel, a frameffor carrying same supported to swing coaxially with the motor shaft, a driving pinion on the end of the motor shaft having gear reduction driving connections with said driving wheel, a driven roll rotatably supported in the elevator shaft arranged to have draft connections with the gate or gates and means for tilting the frame and the driving wheel so that it has a driving engagement with the driven roll.

2. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which the driven roll is substantially wider than the driving wheel and both come into surface to surface friction contact.

3. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which the driving wheel carrying frame is pivoted upon the motor drive shaft and has a driven gear Xed to the driving wheel and coaxial therewith, said gear intermeshing with the driving pinion on the end of the motor shaft.

4. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which the means for tilting the frame and the driving Wheel into driving engagement with the driven roll comprises a torque motor.

5. The combination claimed in claim 1 in which the means for tilting the frame and the driving wheel into driving engagement with the driven roll comprises a torque motor having the power of the motor adjustable to tilt the wheel into a driving engagement With the driven friction roll but permitting slippage when an obstruction is met with to provide a safety factor.

CLARENCE O. HARMON.

No references cited. 

